BlackBerry PlayBook to Get Its Own Video-Chat App

On Tuesday, RIM will debut a new video chat app for the PlayBook, allowing the device to make video and voice calls over Wi-Fi networks.

The company is also planning to release a native Facebook app later this month. E-mail, calendar and contacts apps will have to wait until summer.

The video chat app sounds fairly straightforward, according to RIM's press release. Much like other currently available mobile video chat options, you'll have a contact list, picture-in-picture capabilities and a nice little notification that will pop up when you're receiving a new call. You can also switch between the front and rear cameras on the PlayBook in the middle of the call, so your chat buddy can see the world through your back-facing camera on the call.

Video chat capability is becoming par for the course in the 2011 mobile market. The existence of voice-over-internet-protocol software companies like Skype, Fring and Qik have made it possible for us to communicate between one another face-to-face.

And since the debut of Apple's official Face Time app for iOS devices with front-facing cameras as well as desktops, we can expect more official video chat app releases from the competition. Last week, for example, Google released its official video chat application for Android smartphones running the latest version of its operating system.

It's not like the cameras themselves are going anywhere, either. Any tablet-maker that deviates from the predominant hardware profile risks ostracizing itself in an already overcrowded market. Every major tablet debut we've seen this year thus far – from Motorola's Xoom to Apple's iPad 2 – includes a front-facing camera for taking pictures and video of your mug.

The app will be distributed to existing PlayBook users in an over-the-air software update on Tuesday, and will also be available for download in the BlackBerry App World market.